Rotatable rolls, often referred to as “mill rolls,” are commonly used in the manufacturing and processing of metal sheets and strips (e.g., coils) in continuous production lines. A mill roll typically includes a cover (e.g., a sleeve or coating), such as a non-woven cover, fitted around and fixed to a rotatable shaft. In typical processes using mill rolls, metal sheets or coils move over the mill rolls as the metal feeds through the production line. During this process, the metal subjects the mill rolls to stress and deflections that affect their performance, usable lifetime, or both. As a result, the design of a mill roll may greatly impact the performance and/or usable life of the mill roll.
The design of mill rolls has conventionally involved rough approximation, intuition, trial and error, or a combination thereof. Moreover, a common approach has been to construct and evaluate “test” mill rolls corresponding to various designs under consideration. According to this technique, actual mill rolls for use in the production line would be constructed based on the performance of the test mill rolls, and only after the test mill rolls were thoroughly evaluated. Consequently, this can be a time-consuming, labor-intensive process involving numerous iterations.